Based on the belief that personal ownership of computing devices (e.g. netbooks, handhelds or mobiles) is highly motivating for students and also for teachers, the latest national ICT programmes increasingly focus on 1:1 initiatives by providing personal notebooks and netbooks to students, teachers and families. 1:1 computing is a new phenomenon in educational settings, indicating the ratio of items per user, i.e. one netbook per learner and referring to the current trend of low-cost computer devices, ranging from mobiles and handhelds to netbooks. Even though laptops are not a new phenomenon in educational settings, several European countries have started in the last years to invest further in low-cost computer devices, and netbook initiatives are developing more and more in schools and other educational contexts.
Moreover, at European level, European Schoolnet, in cooperation with Acer, is involved in a netbook initiative, which started early in 2010. The Acer-European Schoolnet Educational Netbook Pilot is aimed at understanding and documenting how learners and teachers can use netbooks in various educational contexts. The aim is to explore how the introduction of netbooks and 1:1 pedagogy in schools could change teaching and learning processes. Until June 2010 the pre-pilot involved 10 classes in 6 countries (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Turkey), while the full deployment phase will run from September 2010 to June 2011 involving 40 classes in each country (www.netbooks.eun.org).
Approach
The information provided in this report is based on European Schoolnet’s country reports for ICT in education, mainly from the 2009-2010 edition but also from previous years, issued by European Schoolnet for representatives of Ministries of Education. Other initiatives were identified through desk research and additional submissions by Ministries or responsible authorities. All initiatives were described according to a common framework and validated by Ministries of Education or the organization involved in the initiative.
Aim and Structure of the Report
In the framework of increased interest and investment in this field at national, European and international level, the paper aims to give a general overview of laptop/notebook/netbook initiatives in a number of European countries in two main areas:

1. It looks at the scope of these initiatives, including their aim, target groups involved and focus.
2. It analyses the organizational framework, including ownership, actors involved, and conditions for participation and funding.

Chapter 1 gives an introduction by setting out the background, approach and aim of the report. Chapter 2 describes and analyses the initiatives in terms of scope and organizational framework. Chapter 3 summarizes the main findings and Chapter 4 gives an outlook for the future. In Annex 1 the report contains a table overview with a short description of all initiatives. Annex 2 shows more detailed initiative sheets per country. A classification of initiatives according to target groups and initiators is presented in Annex 3.